Real-time non-perturbative dynamics of jet production: quantum entanglement and vacuum modification

TL;DR

This paper presents quantum simulations of the Schwinger model to explore how high-momentum jets affect the QCD vacuum and generate entanglement, providing insights into non-perturbative real-time jet dynamics.

Contribution

It introduces the first quantum simulation of vacuum modification and entanglement in a Schwinger model with external sources representing jets.

Findings

Strong entanglement observed between jet fragments at small rapidity separations.

Vacuum chiral condensate is significantly modified by propagating jets.

Results suggest similar phenomena could occur in QCD and be experimentally studied.

Abstract

The production of jets should allow testing the real-time response of the QCD vacuum disturbed by the propagation of high-momentum color charges. Addressing this problem theoretically requires a real-time, non-perturbative method. It is well known that the Schwinger model [QED in $(1+1)$ dimensions] shares many common properties with QCD, including confinement, chiral symmetry breaking, and the existence of vacuum fermion condensate. As a step in developing such an approach, we report here on fully quantum simulations of a massive Schwinger model coupled to external sources representing quark and antiquark jets as produced in $e^+e^-$ annihilation. We study, for the first time, the modification of the vacuum chiral condensate by the propagating jets and the quantum entanglement between the fragmenting jets. Our results indicate strong entanglement between the fragmentation products of the two jets at rapidity separations $\Delta \eta \leq 2$, which can potentially exist also in QCD and can be studied in experiments.